County Schools Plan to Reopen Classrooms This Week

The more people able to get home before the major deluge from 4-6pm, the less of a chance of people needing emergency assistance overwhelming the system. A little chaos now is worth saving everyone from a lot of chaos in 2 hours. Common sense.

Good point. I too was thinking it was too much. I think emergency services/managers are being overly careful, and for good reason. Damned if they do, damned if they don't, too.

Jamming the roads up with panicked parents in a storm isn't really "common sense" to me. Yeah, good we get the kids home safe, but doing it at the last minute creates a mess. The schools aren't going to flood. Probably more safe for them to be at school than out on the road or back at home if they live in a flood zone area.

Maybe it's just me? Oh well.

They’ve done exactly that.

There have been many extended conversations with school district, county, and emergency management services all afternoon and this decision (which each school district made) was not taken lightly. They only made this decision knowing that more heavy rain was coming and more road closures would be more likely. Many were able to get off the roads earlier because they made a difficult decision. Buses did their routes too. And many schools were having significant flooding issues...

@2:38pm, apparently that's too much common sense for most, who have nothing better to do than complain.

SEABIRD - I'm not complaining, just wondering aloud whether this was the best way to handle it. I know nerves are strung tight today with all the constant alerts and flood evacuation warnings. Crap, sorry for even questioning it.....

@BASIC, the goal was to keep the people off the road during the expected major deluge after 3 pm. There was already flooding, expected to get much worse = early closure.

We'all (face palm) just wondering how effective it was after seeing thousands of cars jamming up the roads near the school and in the surrounding neighborhoods. Glad you never once questioned a decision.

Oh Sac. I made my OWN decision before it was even called. These folks would have been jamming up the roadway during peak deluge. I used to think you were reasonable. You lost me here with the passive aggressive whining. Did you have kids to get home? No? Weird.

SEABIRD - yeah, 2 kids at 2 different schools, both completely above water. Why are you so rude and snippy? I simply asked if anyone else thought it was a bit much. Not complaining, not even opposing it. Yet here you come high and mighty to ridicule those who question a decision that affects thousands of student drivers and parents. You're awesome.

"These folks would have been jamming up the roadway during peak deluge." - No, not really. With the "Students will not be allowed to walk home" notice, you greatly increase the number of panicked parents that otherwise wouldn't have been driving to pick up their kids. Sorry if my post "ruined" how you think of me, but seriously......? You must not have thought very highly of me to begin with for my questioning an undoubtedly last minute urgent order by the district lol!

BICYCLIST - yeah, just got the word no school for any SBUSD schools tomorrow. I wonder if GUSD is doing the same?

This is probably a good decision. My kids got the grandchildren home before the deluge and they are very happy they did. Shame on these cranky people on Edhat immediately criticizing every move the SBUSD makes. Can't they even wait until the weather crisis has passed. Edhat, I urge you to muzzle ( vote down) them at least for a few hours.

FITZ, if only.......so sick of these 3-4 commenters and their nastiness

Just got back from some errands - 101 North is closed at the Winchester exit. I feel bad for those who commute from up north!

Seeing the roads, it's a mess out there. While I still think waiting an extra hour or so until school normally ends would have been less chaotic, I can see why some have gone into emergency mode. Good thing they're closed tomorrow, I think it's going to be worse in the AM than it is now even.

Stay safe everyone!

I'm with you Sacjon. I would have preferred they waited it out until end of day. The school I picked up at was chaotic and dangerous by having ALL the parents show up at once, with no place to park, and having to walk in to sign out our students. After the wait to get in we only picked up about 30 minutes earlier than usual pickup. However, I was happy to comply - as they called it a day for some reason. Glad they are cancelled tomorrow.

GT - exactly! That's how it was at Goleta Valley Jr. High. What a ridiculous process that was! Could have waited a bit and the weather was still OK.

"It's some rain"... Could you graph that for us?

It didn't feel like much in Noleta but if you look at the coverage you will see that the majority of the city doesn't drain well and it is more than "some rain". Also, on the anniversary of a major local disaster, it totally triggered PTSD for a lot of people in our community.

What do you mean by access for employees?

The early-release was absolutely for student and staff safety. MTD was also involved. Raytheon let their employees go home early for very similar reasons. The closure on Tuesday was due to transportation and staffing issues in addition to safety. When 15-20% of your workforce commutes and they can't get here, you have a staffing issue and not enough personnel to cover the lack of staffing. MTD busses will not be able to transport students today because of their own staffing issues. BTW, getting out of school parking lots at the end of the day always takes way too long. You should be grateful that you have a car, the ability to pick up your kids, and that they got home safe and sound. Is sitting in your car for a few more minutes than usual really a problem?